Secretary Cusi issues protocols for energy industry

CEBU, Philippines — A coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response protocol for the energy sector was issued recently by Secretary Alfonso Cusi to protect the occupational health and safety of the employees in the industry.

"It is imperative for the energy industry to observe a strict COVID-19 response protocol,” Cusi said.

“Protecting the occupational health and safety of our employees is central to the unimpeded delivery of energy goods and services. As "backliners" during this pandemic, we must remain healthy to keep providing vital energy to all our frontliners," he added.

The Task Force on Energy Resiliency (TFER) will be implementing the policy, which covers the Department of Energy, its attached agencies, and all energy industry players.

The TFER will likewise ensure compliance to the issuance through the preparation of relevant checklists, daily monitoring toolkits, and the establishment of a feedback mechanism.  The Protocol's general framework is based on the following key interventions:

• Prevention - pertains to disease control; or the reduction of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, or mortality to a locally acceptable level, resulting from deliberate efforts and continued intervention measures.

• Detection - pertains to disease surveillance; or the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of outcome-specific data for use in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice.

• Isolation - pertains to the separation of ill or infected persons from others, to prevent the spread of infection or contamination.

• Treatment - medical treatment, or the management and care of a patient for the purpose of combating disease, injury, or disorder. Restriction on activities is not considered treatment, unless the primary purpose of the restriction is to improve a worker's condition through conservative care.

• Reintegration to the Workforce - allowing employees with clean bills of health to return to the workplace.

• Adapting to the "New Normal" - pertains to the necessary occupational changes that need to be implemented in the medium term, to ensure the unhampered delivery of energy good and services, while protecting employees in the workplace.

For the DOE and its attached agencies, the COVID-19 Response Protocol shall be incorporated in their respective public service continuity plans, while energy industry players are required to incorporate the same into their business continuity plans, or their equivalent.   FPL (FREEMAN)